> [System Notification]
Warning: Conspiracy Detected.
Reputation Interface Update:
Sect Whispers – Intensifying
Hostile Intent – Concentrated (Iron Vein Hall)
Advisory: Multiple entities within the sect are coordinating against you. Proceed with caution.
---
Kai exhaled slowly as he stepped out into the pale morning light of the sect's outer training grounds. The air smelled faintly of pine resin and cold stone, but beneath it lay a tension sharp enough to cut skin. His instincts prickled with unease, each step echoing too loudly in the stillness.
The System's warning pulsed faintly in his vision, a ghostly blue overlay. He didn't need it to know trouble was coming. The whispers had grown louder since his victory against the so-called genius. Faces turned too quickly when he passed. Smirks and narrowed eyes followed him. The sect's silence was not peace—it was the quiet before a storm.
So it begins, Kai thought grimly, his fists flexing. The price of refusing to bend.
---
The Trap
They came as shadows peeling themselves from the courtyard's edges. One by one, figures in Iron Vein Hall robes emerged, blocking exits, their gazes hard with intent. Seven in total. Their leader stepped forward, broad-shouldered, his arms like iron bars forged in fire. His dark hair was bound tightly, his expression calm but cruel.
Han Yueming.
The name was already infamous in the outer court. Ranked among the top five outer disciples, Yueming was known for his savage strength and for practicing the Iron Vein's prized body-tempering method—turning flesh to stone and bones to steel. He wasn't just another bully; he was the pride of his faction.
"Kai," Yueming said, his tone deceptively casual. "You've been making quite the noise. Beating Zhou Yan. Standing tall against an inner court genius. And then… turning down Iron Vein Hall's invitation." His lips curled into a cold smile. "That last part is where you erred."
Kai's eyes narrowed. He said nothing.
Another disciple barked, "We're here to teach you respect. You should've known your place!"
Kai felt the System's warning pulse again, sharper this time. But he didn't back away. Instead, he rolled his shoulders, the ache of half-healed wounds whispering through his body. His spirit energy swirled, ready to explode.
"Respect," Kai murmured, his voice low, carrying in the tense silence. "Respect isn't given. It's earned. And if you think I'll bow to Iron Vein Hall's leash… you'll find out what I do to chains."
The disciples snarled. Yueming's smile sharpened. "Then let's break you."
---
The First Clash
The first two rushed forward. Their techniques were coordinated—Iron Vein disciples drilled together often, their heavy strikes designed to overwhelm.
Kai's body snapped into motion. His fists blurred, his footwork sharp and predatory. The first disciple's iron-coated palm slammed toward his chest, but Kai twisted, driving his elbow into the man's ribs. Bone cracked. The second came low, aiming for Kai's legs.
Kai stomped down, his heel slamming onto the attacker's knee. A sickening snap echoed as the disciple screamed, collapsing.
> [System Notification]
Combat Efficiency: +2%
Enemy incapacitated.
Kai didn't pause. He spun, striking the first disciple across the jaw, sending him sprawling unconscious against the courtyard stones.
Five left.
The remaining disciples hesitated, but Yueming's cold eyes narrowed, and they surged forward again.
---
Blood and Grit
The courtyard erupted into chaos.
Kai moved like a storm, weaving between heavy strikes, his fists and feet a blur. Every blow he landed carried the weight of his will to survive, to climb higher no matter who stood in his path. Blood spattered the stones, his own and his enemies'.
One disciple managed to rake a blade across his shoulder. Pain flared white-hot, but Kai twisted with it, driving a brutal knee into the attacker's gut. The man doubled over, vomiting blood.
Another disciple leapt at his back, but Kai ducked low, grabbed the man's arm, and wrenched it until bone snapped like dry wood. The scream that followed chilled the air.
Three left.
Kai's breaths came heavy now, each inhale scraping against bruised ribs, but his eyes blazed.
I can't falter. Not here. Not in front of them. Every strike I make is a message to this sect: I am not prey.
---
The Duel with Han Yueming
The fodder had fallen, broken and groaning on the ground. Only Han Yueming and two more stood.
Yueming stepped forward, his aura surging like a furnace. His veins pulsed with iron-colored light, skin hardening as his body-tempering technique activated. His fists looked less like flesh and more like forged steel.
"You're strong," Yueming admitted, voice calm. "But strength without foundation is nothing. Today, I'll remind you where you belong."
He lunged.
Kai barely dodged the first punch. It smashed into the stone courtyard, shattering tiles into dust. The shockwave rattled Kai's bones.
He's fast… too fast for someone his size.
Kai countered with a sharp strike to Yueming's ribs. His knuckles connected—and pain jolted up his arm. It was like punching a mountain. Yueming didn't even flinch.
The other two disciples circled, waiting for openings, trying to hem Kai in.
Kai gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his split lip. So that's the power of Iron Vein's body. If I can't break stone with one strike, then I'll break it with a thousand.
---
The Breaking Point
The fight became brutal, savage. Yueming's blows hammered down like falling boulders, each one threatening to shatter Kai's defenses. Kai's body screamed, his legs buckling under the force, but his will burned hotter.
He countered again and again, aiming for joints, eyes, weak points. He moved not as a disciple, but as a predator cornered and furious.
One circling disciple lunged. Kai pivoted, grabbing the man's throat, slamming him into the ground so hard the tiles cracked. The disciple didn't rise.
Two left: Yueming, and one shaken lackey.
Yueming snarled now, his calm cracking. "You dare lay low my brothers?!" His fists blurred in a storm of strikes. One clipped Kai's ribs, sending agony shooting through him.
Kai spat blood, eyes like burning coals. "You think… numbers make you right? Then watch as I carve truth into your bones."
---
The Kill
It happened in a blur.
Yueming overcommitted with a crushing overhead punch. Kai twisted, his body screaming in protest, but he forced himself forward, into the storm rather than away. His fist shot up, guided by the System's faint combat cues.
> [System Assist Activated]
Vulnerability Detected: Han Yueming's throat.
Kai's strike landed. Not on Yueming's iron body—but on the soft flesh just above his hardened chest. His knuckles drove deep into the throat. Cartilage crunched. Yueming staggered back, choking, eyes wide with disbelief.
The world slowed. The courtyard fell silent but for Yueming's gurgled gasps. He clawed at his neck, blood pouring between his fingers.
Then he collapsed.
Dead.
---
System Update
> [System Notification]
Han Yueming (Iron Vein Hall, Outer Disciple Ranked 5) – Eliminated.
Reputation Shift:
Rising Contender → Blood-Stained Rising Contender
Faction Hostility: Iron Vein Hall – Extreme
Faction Interest: Azure Flame Pavilion – Intensified
Warning: Elders' Attention Increased.
---
The Shadow Behind It
Kai stood trembling, bloodied and bruised, as the last lackey fled in terror. His breath came ragged, each inhale knives in his chest.
But even through the haze of exhaustion, he felt it.
A ripple.
Subtle. Cold. A spiritual pressure that pressed on the courtyard for just an instant before vanishing, like a shadow withdrawing its claws. Too refined to be a disciple. Too sharp to be coincidence.
The System's interface flickered.
> [System Notification]
Shadow Influence Detected.
Possible Elder Interference.
Kai's jaw tightened. So it wasn't just Yueming's pride. Someone wanted this. Someone powerful.
---
Aftermath
The sect buzzed like a hornet's nest. News of Han Yueming's death spread before nightfall. Outer disciples whispered in terror and awe. Inner disciples debated his fate. Elders argued in chambers, voices rising.
"An outer disciple killed Iron Vein Hall's prodigy? This cannot stand!"
"He defended himself. Shall we punish him for surviving?"
"He must be brought to heel. Or destroyed, before he grows beyond control."
In the Iron Vein Hall, fury roared like wildfire. Yueming had been their pride. Now his corpse was their humiliation.
And in the shadows, an elder's eyes glinted coldly. His lips curved into a smile that held no warmth.
"So the cub bares fangs," he murmured. "Good. The more you struggle, the sweeter it will be when the jaws close."
---
Kai sat alone in his chamber, body bandaged, blood drying on his knuckles. The System's new title glowed faintly before him.
Blood-Stained Rising Contender.
He closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. His path had narrowed. His enemies had multiplied. But his resolve… it had never been sharper.
"If they want a storm," Kai whispered, voice low and steady, "I'll become the thunder that tears the sky."